Mariscada - steamed lobster, clams, shrimp and scallops in a wine and butter sauce - is a featured item on The Atlantic Restaurant's menu. Photographed at the restaurant in Danbury on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.

Mariscada - steamed lobster, clams, shrimp and scallops in a wine and butter sauce - is a featured item on The Atlantic Restaurant's menu. Photographed at the restaurant in Danbury on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.

Visiting Atlantic Restaurant in Danbury one recent evening was like dropping in at the home of a friend you haven't seen in a long, long time -- or maybe a great-aunt's house -- for dinner. It felt comfortable but not so familiar as to be old hat.

The building is divided between the bar on one side and the dining room on the other. We arrived at just the right time -- early enough to be seated right away.

Within an hour of our arrival, every table in the dining room was filled and the sound of lively conversations came from every direction. The ladies serving dinner were kept busy for quite a while.

The restaurant had a pleasant, casual vibe that made my friend and I feel welcome. Cream-colored walls were decorated with nautically-themed items, from paintings to figurines.

A large tropical fish tank livened up space near the entrance. White tablecloths and seafoam green napkins graced the tables, with decorations of leaf-topped pumpkins acknowledging the season.

The menu lists dishes in Portuguese with English translations, and includes meat, seafood and poultry.

Learn from our ignorance -- plan to split appetizers. We each ordered one and once they arrived, realized we'd have to pace ourselves to leave some room for our entrees. Our order easily could've piqued the appetites of a party of four.

I ordered clams Atlantico to start, expecting at most a small plate of clams to arrive, but instead received an entire crock full of them, cooked with onions and plenty of flavorful sauce that added a kick.

My friend chose the grilled sausage for his appetizer. Its arrival to the table was an event -- a ceramic pig with an open grill back had flames shooting up around the sausage draped along the back.

Other appetizer options on the menu include several preparations of shrimp or quail dishes, plus hot chicken wings and a soup of the day.

I stayed with seafood for my entree, selecting the Bacalhau com Batatas a Muro, or more prosaically, Grilled Codfish with Baked Potatoes. Sounds mild, right? Maybe a dull choice on my part?

Not at all. Thinking of "salted cod," I was prepared for the possibility of heavy salt, but there was more flavor going on here than just salt would provide. The cod arrived topped with peppers and onions, surrounded by large grilled potato quarters, seasoned with just the right bite.

Bitoque, described as Small Steak with Fried Egg, was my friend's choice of entree. It was accompanied by rice and some delicious, freshly made thick potato chips. He was very pleased with his choice.

Other entree possibilities included Espetada a Atlantico, or Shis-ka-bob with Shrimp, which I saw other diners enjoying; Carne Alentejana, a dish of pork, fried potatoes and clams; several other steak and pork options, a few different chicken dishes and plentiful seafood choices.

Very hungry seafood lovers might try one of the platters, such as the Mariscada, that includes steamed lobster, clams, shrimp and scallops in a wine and butter sauce.

We split an order of the flan, a nice cool end to our flavorful dinner, and enjoyed excellent cups of coffee that perked us up before we hit the road. Other desserts offered included cheesecake, seasonal fruit, and a custard creme.